Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. iPhone 6 Specs Detailed by Analyst

An analyst report compares alleged specifications of the rumored Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6, pitting the two most anticipated smartphones of the year against each other ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S5 launch date, set to take place in just a few weeks.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Apple iPhone 6 are two of the hottest rumored devices of the year. The Galaxy S5 is said to be coming to the replace the Galaxy S4 while the iPhone 6 will almost certainly be the successor to the iPhone 5s and perhaps, the plastic iPhone 5c that Apple launched alongside it back in September.

For weeks, we’ve heard quite a bit about both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 and today, one of South Korea’s top brokerage firms, KDB Daewoo Securities, issued a report comparing the features of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 6, well in advance of their respective launch dates.

The report, first noticed by OLED-Display, suggests that both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 will be powerful devices though it does suggest that there will be some key differences between the two. For instance, it claims that the Galaxy S5 will sport a 5.2-5.25-inch display with QHD resolution. The iPhone 6 on the other hand is rumored to have a display around 4.7-inch to 4.8-inches with a larger 5.5-inch display rumored as well.

It suggests that the Galaxy S5 will sport either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor or a Exynos 6 64-bit processor, something that agrees with an earlier report fromSamMobile but disagrees with predictions that respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Cho Kuo made last week.

Kuo believes the processors will be 32-bit across the board with Samsung utilizing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 or a Exynos 5 chip instead. KDB unsurprisingly claims that the iPhone 6 will use a new processor, a 64-bit processor dubbed A8.

Sources say Apple is planning two iPhone 6 models with larger screens to better compete with the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4.

The firm thinks that the Galaxy S5 will run Android 4.4 KitKat, Google’s latest version of Android, while it thinks the iPhone 6 might run iOS 7.2 and not iOS 8. While it’s not clear, it could be that it makes this assertion based on the fact that it thinks it could launch in the second quarter, arriving on shelves much earlier than last year’s iPhone 5s. iOS updates are typically announced, but not released, at WWDC in June so this analysis likely takes that into account.

KDB’s report goes into more detail, suggesting a 3,200 mAh battery for the Galaxy S5 and a smaller 1,800 mAh battery inside the iPhone 6. Both would be sizable upgrades over the batteries found in their predecessors though it will be up to each company to optimize them for performance purposes.

It, like most others, believes that a 16MP camera will be on board the Galaxy S5 and it suggests that the iPhone 6 will have an 8MP camera. An iPhone 6 rumor suggested that Apple could stick with an 8MP camera sensor over a 13MP one, though, the camera would come with some noticeable improvements.

The report claims that the Galaxy S5 will come with a metal design, something that has been in dispute for a week now and that it will come in three different sizes 32GB, 64GB and 128GB, eliminating a 16GB option from the market altogether. Samsung ran into issues last year with its 16GB model due to the extensive software that took up storage space inside the box. It says that the iPhone 6 will come with four storage variants including 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and a 128GB model.

KDB unsurprisingly suggests that the Galaxy S5 will arrive in the first quarter (January, February, or March) or the second quarter (April, May, or June.) Rumors put the Galaxy S5 launch date inside the month of March with a release heavily rumored for April, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4 release.

iPhone 6 rumors have pointed to a launch either this summer or this fall and KDB says that it sees the iPhone 6 emerging either in the second quarter or the third quarter. The third quarter is comprised of July, August and September. Apple has launched the past two iPhones in the month of September.

While nothing is certain, it’s looking like the Samsung Galaxy S5 will arrive first and challenge the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. And while nothing is confirmed, it could be that a much-larger, powerful iPhone 6 comes to take on the Galaxy S5 in the months after its launch.